System of automatic signaling for electric railways.



BEST AVAILABLE COP PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906 P. TOWNSEND. 4 v SYSTEM OF AUTOMATIC SIGNALING FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

APPIJOATION FILED NOV.1 0. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lm/Mammo- 'QnMc BEST AVAILABLE COP.

PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906. FQTOWNSEND. SYSTEM OF AUTOMATIC SIGNALING FOB. ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10. 1905'.

3 SHBETG-SHEET 2.

llll' BEST AVAILABLE COP No. 810,687. I PATENT-ED JAN. 23,1906, I F. TOWNSEND.

SYSTEM OF AUTOMATIC SIGNALING FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 10. 1905.

SHBETS SEEET 3.

:EHGRBI wi meooe a v Q gum/Mow AVAILABLE-CO9.)

"UM ED s'nrrns *"lh-rTE'XT OFFICE; f

SYSTEM OF AuT oMATlo'siGNALmG' Fen "ELEcrnic RAILWAYSQ- it;

No.810,687. Specification of Application filed November 1 To 11/]- lr/mmjt nut (emu-( rm- Be it known that I, Fl'rzm'nn"lowxssxn, a citizen of the Unit-ed States, residing at New York city, county and State of New York, have invented a System of Automatie-Signnling for Eleetrie Railways, of which the following isaspeeilieaton.- i 1 This invention relates to a system of automatic block-signaling for electric rnihvays I0 of the type comprising a source of powercurrent, a source of signahrig-current. u trait-kway divided into block-sections, means for 1 setting up an alternating'diil'erenee of'pot-eni tie] between the rails of a block-section, means which will freel :permit the passage of the power-current fi'o'm block-section to blocksectiqn, hut prevent the alternating difference of potential between-the rnilsi of u block-section from infecting t he'signaling devices in adjacent block-sections, a signaling de vice in each blOt'k seetion', and means eontrolled by the mov ements 'of the cars which ill.

fgontrol the movements of the simmhng do- ;vices. In such a svstem it is usua to arrange 2 5 the reactance bonds so that the power-current -of the two tratlic-rails produces counter-rioting zor op osing magnetonmtive forces. In practice It has been. found necessary to make these bonds of large sizeiii order to provide for the: possible inequality-in the amounts of f power-current carried by each truthc-rail. he inequality of the'current in the tmlhc- E Y rails tends to maguetize unequally the cores I of the bonds, thus atleeting their reactive 1n- {'3 5 fltienee and giving rise to other objectionable.

' features known to signnlengineers.

' iTheobject of my invention, therefore, is the Connected ecross the track provision means in :rblock system for re- ,pose-.of f,t, liesetriirisfor ner duping the resultant. imignetqmotive force of iternu ting t ed by the two tratlictraek-rggxls of 'ii'eh lilock sectip 4o the power-eurrentscam [8.118 to zero m the mduettmce bonds.

Y :The.,cc01npanyingdiagrams will serve to illustrate my inventioin Figural IS a diagram illustrating a system of automatie signaling for eleotrierrni ways, 7

with means for varyingthe turns in the m which ductance bonds In a. manner proport onately. control signal 14.

t. to currents carried by 1- 1e trulho-rnils, thus reducing the retothe de ree of ineqmilitv of sultant mngnetomotive force to zero in the coils.- Fig. 2 is a detail view of the indue- 4' I ngementt speet ive bleeleseetrons"constitutes gist-emf to Fig.1 with means for equuhzing the v.

I or NEW YORK, N; iissrexon To rens-snarl RAILWAY SlU NAL"COMPANY; A C. ])R,PORA*FI()N OF new YORK;

Letters Patents. PatentedJanjtZQil-QOB 0.1905. .Serisl No. 226.741.

pmver-euigrent betxieen'the mils, consisting .of imluctanee h 'nds having epiis in the pat-l1.0ftl1e ponfer-eurrent with nie'aii for changing the .ell'ec-t-ive're'sistanc or the other. .65 said coils, and 'th'iis' it the relative f resistance offthe' i'et iflnthrough the rails, Fig; 41s a- (letail vie w the induetunee hond'elnploved in thelar'itrn ment shown in F i 3." IFigKBSiS af': 'e 1 dingriun thereof. 6 is' r diagram smnl to Fig.1 with xiieansfor'et' i l' posinp h1g1grie tomotive .7 forces due v ])Q\\'(X-(.;ll1'f8l lllsllid li indn'c't it-n hon s, means heingindapted'tosliin more 7 the 'power-eiirrept "aroi nd withi'mtretpiig ig'morethan he use kntnvn elet'tritgii i'ine-iplesand revise Referringloft ietlingrain 15 militia 1 source .of po ver-c irrent I 6,;11' ur e of 's 'fi nailing-current '7,--pnwe r-feet ler; "8 gnnlin feeder: 910,:trirck-milsj These" e vided into bloekrseetions AB (1 each block-section" is. iafltrarisfor'me 1 1 ing its primary 512 energized fro'm t-he'so of signahng cui' cut 6 and its vlsecontllggfy also in cach'hloelr-seetion is a s'igm l itr'el 15,-havingsits held ,16 eqnneelted flaeros source ofisignaling-eurrent tif ind-itsju rnigi 17 across the, truck rail's 9.10, and; this .af'rm ture admitted t-o controls a, ,flo 'e-e-l e'ii'ei'uit vhenelosedenergizes olen'o 1 The features of eoiistrx ietiohisofaras l serihed present he point'of (Nguyen-d it h i used in connection with suit'iible'f lmndsinterpus between the rail r pf automatic Block-signaling for e] twig; i a if 'nys shah; forjinstance \vinting' of 1e mdu in P d e 2 other endthrt described in United States Letters Patent lilo.- 757,53.7, granted to S. M. Young April 19, 1904. The system described in such patent, as well as in subsequent'pa'tents, makes 5 use of a reactance bond havlng no moving part.- In the resent case I employ a react- -ance bond wit a moving part, as in Fig. 1,

which has for its plur ose to relatively vary the efiective lengt o the coils on the bond,

X0 or a-device to be used in connection with the bond to vary the relative eiie'ctive resistance of the coils on the bonds, as in Fig. 3, or

shunt one coil of a bond, as in Fig. 7,

Referring to Fi s. 1 and 2, indicates re- 15 actance bonds. hese bonds each consist of a men core 21, on which are wound two co 22 23. 7 These coils are in series and are cbnnjected. across the track-rails 9 10. Each coiif at definite points in its len this connect- :0 ed tozcontact-plates 24 26 or the coil 22,

27:23 29 for the coil 23, and an armature 30,

pivotedf-tjo oscillate on axis 31 and provided 'th ai'co'il 32. Onef'iznd of this coil is connectedto a; shaped contact-arm eased the lu'gh conductor 34 to the coil 32 of the next tandem reaetancebond 20i e.,

.in the next blocl: "-section,-,or;. as shown in block-section'Aj, thkthe, sources. of current.

The operation ofthe system steam in Fig.

from en'eiator 5, thence by'feeder 7"'to the car in lock B, thence by rails 9 10' to the re-, actance bond 20 at the lefthand end of the block, thence through the coils 22 23, which 'are wound in such manner that there will be 5 or instance, exceed-that in rail 10 the core 2L will be magnetized This condition will cause the armature '30 to turn, and this rotation willmove the contact-arm 33 to a position to diminlsh the number of active turns '50 of the coil 22. This is the condition indicated b the bonds at the left-hand end'of I blocks B and C, while the 'osition at the right-hand end of block B in icates the re verse and the position at the right-hand end of blockA an equalized current. The signaling? current starts from generator 6, excites the transformers 11, which excite a difierence ofpotential between the rails9 10. It will be observed that by reason-of the direction of the 6o windings of coils22 23 of the bonds 20 the core 21 is not saturated by the power-current and that consequently these coils set up a react-' ance which chokes back the alternating signalin -cu;'rent, thus maintaining an alternating 5 .di erence of potential between the trafiiccoil, 42 44' 2. I I 8 9 BESTVAVAILAB'LE COP rails. This reactance also prevents such alternating difference of potential in one block-section fromraifccting the relay apparatus of an adjacent block-section. It will he observed in regard to Fig. 1,'as well as Figs. 3an'd 6, that the reactance bonds "of adjacent sections have their coils connected at their centers, so that the power-current flowing along the rails 9 10 will not magnetize the cores 21 of the bonds. The alternating difference of potential between the rails 9 10 causes a current to flow through the coil of armature 17 of the relay 15,.and a current of the same phase and frequency from'the signaling-generator 6 flows through the field 16 of the relay, thereby normally causing a thrning movementof the armature',-,which carries it into the position shown inA and C. This'action closes the local circuit 18 and carries the si nals 14- to the clear position shown in bloc sAand C. When a car'moves into-a block, the armature 17 of the relay in said block is short-circuited, the local circuit 18 is broken and thesignal carried to the danger position, as shown iriblock B.

It will be seen from the above description that the action of the bond 20 is to reduce the opposing inagnetomotive forces due to the power-currents in coils 22 and 23 to equality, so thatno magnetic flux is produceil inthe core 21 by said. power-currents Tbis'action is entirely independent of the condition ofth'e block-section so far as regards the signaling-cur'rcntthat is, it isimmaterial whether or not the blocks are occupied by the cars.- j I Referring to Figs. 3, 4', and 5, the bonds. 20 are shown mechanically, separated from the equalizin device 35. heequalizing device hcre use consists of a core 36, ,on which are coils 37, wound in series and connected across thesoprce of power-current, also a pivoted armature 38, on which are two coils 39 4Q. 41 43Lre'present the terminals of one the terminals of the other coil. The terminals 41 42 are-connected at the rails 9 10 and the terminals 434410 the opposite ends of the 'coil on bond 20. 45 is a resistance interposed in series with coil 39, and 46 asimilar resistance in series with coil 40. The resistances 45 46 may beimade of contact-plates placed one against the other and held in position by means of s'prings48. The armature 38 is provided with an arm 49,

which tends when moved in one direction or the other to press one or'the other of the series of contact-plates into close relation. The

action of the equalizing device 35 in this case is to reduce the magnitudc'of the power-cu rents in the traflio-rails to e uality, so that there is no necessity of an aitcratlon in the winding'of the coils 20. This equalization of the power-currents is accomplished-by means of variable resistances inserted in series with the trafiic-raila In the drawings 1 have BEST AVAlLABLE coP equal no turningmoment will be exerted by the armature 38, the coils 39 and 40 being differentially wound; Should, however, the rail 9"of block A be carrying more current than the rail 10, the armature 38 will turn and through the arm 49 press theblocks or plates 46' into close relation, thus diminishing the resistance to the currei'it carried by rail 10 and atthe same time releasing the pressure acting. upon plates 45, thereby increasing the resistance in rail 9 and equalizin' the currents between the rails.

eferring to Figs- 6, 7 and 8, in these fig:

u'i'es, in which the general arrangement of the system is substantially similar to that shown ,inFig; 3, the equalizing device has a "core 36 and two coils 37, connected in series across the source of power-current, also an arnlature '38, having two coils 3940. Coil 39 is connected .in series withrail 9 and coil 40 in serieswith-rail 10. One terminal 41 of coil a -isconneeted to rail..9, ai'i'd'the'othervtermi- 11:11 43 is'conne'ctedto one terminal of the reactance bond 20. One terminal 42 of coil 40 I ifs'connected torail 10, and the other terminal 44' is 'connected to the opposite terminalof thereactanc'e bond 20. These coils are i wound so that' they act diflerentially, and if the currents carried ,by' them are equal no turning moment of the armature 38 will be developed.- The armature 38 carries a con- "tact-arrh49, which moves over a rlicostat 50. l The end'of the rheostat is-connected to the terminal end 44 of the coil 40, and connected to the contact-M11149 is a conductor 51 ,which is connected to the central point of the coil on the b0nd20; It will therefore be seen *that if the "current in the rails 9 IOis the same the position of the contact arm 49 would be that shown at the left-hand end of block B. If the current in either of these rails is increased'or decreased'relative to the other, the armature 38 will be moved and more or less of the resistance of the rheosta't Will be thrown into a shunt around one-. half of the'coil on transformer bond 20. T ius both hialves of the bond may carry the same current." Ihnecssalry, the'shunted haliof the bond may be given a few turns more than the u nshuntcd half. The resistance used here When should be an' inductance resistance.

the current in rail 10 of block A, for instance, I

exceeds'that in' rail 9, the armature 38 will/ of the paths forthe power-currvnt through than before.

turn in such a way as to diminish the resistance which shunts half of the coil of the bond 20. Thus the actual windings on'one-half of. the bonds will not carry any more current In this way the saturation of the bond is pre ented.

l The generic principle here involved is the automatic control ofthc magnetizing iuiluence of the power current transmitted through the two sides of the reactance bond. I f the power-currents traversin the two sides prevent the flow of an alternating current flowing through the two sides of the bond not the same, the side through which the greater power-current flows will be magnet ized, which will ailect the reactanee bond.

control the influence of the power-current upon the bond, and claim to be the first to describe anypractical means forefl'ecting such control.

1. The combination with a signaling system of the type described provided w th cross-bonds for the returnconductors or rails, of means whereby. the power-current will be equalized in theretufir-conductorsto the source ofqioweijvcurrenhj,j 1

i 2. The combination with a i m1 'tem ofthe type'described," of fautoniatic means whereb the power-current will lie.- equalized' in t 1e return UOIId UOtOITSQtiOi the source of powercurrent.

3. The combination with a signaling turn-paths for the pow0r-curroiit in limitcurront in saiid paths. i

n proportion paths. i

5. The combination with a sigivaling sys-' tein of thetypedescribed. providodiw tli cross,- bonds for' the return conductors" or rails. of means whereby the pmvencurrent,

return-cowluctors; 6. The combination with asigiiialing system of the type descrihod ef moans oi-automatically equalizing/H33. power-current between the trallicsrails asreturn-comluctors;

7. The combination with a signaling sys tem of the t pe described, ofreucl-ance bonds, a 'i'ucans or altering the relative resistance said bonds.

tom of the type described, of, reactant-o bonds, and means for automatically altering the relative resistance of the paths for the power current through said bonds,

in; toits construction,will not bemagnotizbd, and consequently the bond will properly per; torm its function as a roactance device. to 1 through it It, however, the pmver-curreiit will be equalized between the trallic-rails-ns.

8. The combination with a signaling sysof the bond are equal, the coil ofthc bond, ow}

Generically, therefore, myinvention seeks ito Having thus described mytinyention,

tem of the type described, of menus fornuto- 1.90 inatlcally varying the resistance. of the reproport ion and. inaccordanco withtluxpow ir- 5 temofthetypedescriberhofareactance-bondc BESTAVAILABLE cor .l. The combination with a signaling system of the type described, of reactanee bonds including in their structure means for auto matically altering the relative resistance of the paths for the power-current through said bonds. I

10. The combination with a signaling system of the type des ribed, 01' reactance bonds having a lixed 1TH .nber with a coilin each path for the return po\\-'cr-em'rcnt and a movable member adapted to vary the relative resistance olsueh paths.

11. The combination with a signaling system of the type described, oi reaeiance bonds having a lixed member in the path of the power-current ,and a movable member adapted tovary the length of the coil of'thc mem her in the path of the power-current.

12. The combination with a signaling system of the type describedpl' means energized by the power for varying the relative. resistance of the return-path for'the power-cur rent and in accordance with the power-current ilowingin said paths.

13. The combination with a signaling sysequalizing device eol'nprising a core having coils thereon in the path of the power-current and wound in opposite directions so as not to magnetize the core, an armature energized by the power-current, and means controlled by.the armature whereby the relative resistance of the paths for the power-current through said bond may be varied, and without affecting the reactance of the bond to an alternating current.

14. The combination with a signaling system of the type. described, of aninductance bond com )rismg a core having coils thereon in the path of the power-current, and wound in opposite directions, so as not to magnetizc said core, an armature energized bv the power-current, and means controlled by the armature whereby the magnetomotive orees of the power-currents in said bond may be varied, and without all'eetingthc reactance of the bond to an alternat ng current.

15. Tho-combination with a signaling sys-' tern of the type described, of means energized by the power-current fo varying the relative power-current magnetomotive forces, in accordance with the inequality of the powercurrents flowing in the l-iallie-rails. I

16. An au.omatic system of block-signaling, embodying means whereby the return pro ulsion-currcnts are automatically equali met between the trallic-rails.

17. An automatic system of block-signaling, embodying means for automatically segregating the alternating si 'nallug-current bctween the respective bloclis of the. traekway and for equalizing the power-current between the rails of the railway as return-conductors.

18. An automatic system of block-signaling, embodying means whereby the ma etomotive forces of the'power-currents in t e in-.

ductancc bonds are automatically equalized.

19. A signaling system of the type' described, comprising traflic-rails of variable relative resistance, inductance bonds wound with wire, adapted to transmit thc powercurrent, and automatic means of magnetomot-ive-force control, combined with said reaetance bonds.

20. A systehn of block-signaling of the type described, comprising traflic-rails of variable I relative resistance, inductance bonds c'onnected to said rails, and a power-current of zero-resultant magnetomotive. force, transmitted through said bonds.

21. In a system of automatic signaling of the type described, trallic-rails of varying relative resistance, inductance bonds adapted to transmit the power-current, automatic mcans ener izedb the ower-currentada t-' 8 ed to reduce the resu tant ma nctomotwe force of the power-current in the 0nd to zero. 22. In a system of automatic signaling for railways, trallicwails carrying'vaqungpo'wercurrents and means of automatic magnetoforce control as to the power-current actuated by the difference in the currents carried by said rails. I

'23. Ina system of automatic signaling, the combination of trallic mils carrying thq waver-current, a block-segregating means, transmitting said power-current, and corn-=- prising a fixed member, and a. movable mom-3.

' ance bonds, and means whereby the magnetv izmg ellect of the power-current, separately transmitted over said rails as a return and through the bond, will be equalized within the bond and thereby produce no liiagnetiza tion of the bond, thus presenting returnpaths for the power-current to the source of energy. v

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in the presence of two-witnesses.

F ITZIIUGII- TOWNSEND. \Vitnesscs:

W. H. Punrunnv, FRANK OCoxxoa. 

